In Exodus 20, the Ten Commandments were given to the children of Israel. They were meant to be followed as God's moral directive for the people who were to represent the one true God among the nations. This revelation set them apart. They were to be as "

What comes to mind when you think about a sermon? With different denominations, worship styles and agendas, sermons today sometimes can feel more like motivational speeches or platforms for social issues. Contrary to these styles of preaching, Belgic Confession article 29 says that one of the marks of a true

Children rarely do as they please. What they do is dependent on their parents and other parental figures in their lives. Teenagers have more ability to do as they please but are still limited by teachers and parents. Adults are limited by their bosses and family. The very rich and

Names are very important in the Bible. Children’s names often reflected a physical characteristic of the baby or a hope the parents had for the coming child (Genesis 25:25, 1 Samuel 1:20). Often the name became a fitting description of the child as they grew up. When

Traditions in and of themselves are not bad. Some are God-honoring and can be helpful for us on our walk. Based on Jesus’ teaching, traditions can be acceptable as part of our spiritual disciplines and in worship if they meet two broad qualifications: that they do not contradict Scripture and

Psalm 51 is one of King David’s penitential Psalms where he prayed to God as a result of sin. There are six of these in the Psalms (Psalm 6, 32, 38, 51, 130 and 148). We do not know the exact occasion for any of them except for Psalm

As Christians, we claim that Jesus is the Messiah, that He was sent by God the Father to save all those who believe in Him from their sin. Why do we believe that Jesus is the Messiah? The Bible testifies to the fact that many even in Jesus’ day claimed

Imagine a courtroom scene for a crime. The jury has just come back into the room with their verdict, and everyone is waiting to hear what they will say because a guilty verdict will carry a hard sentence for the defendant. The prosecutor and defense attorney both presented very strong

“The king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. The war horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue.” – Psalm 33:16-17 The world can be a scary place. There are wars, racial unrest,

When the Israelites were about to enter the Promised Land, God warned them that if they followed the evil ways of the people, He would take them out of the land, and He would cause them to be overtaken by other countries (Deuteronomy 29:25-28). The books of 1 and

If you want to start a dispute, find two baseball fans and ask them who the best Major League Baseball pitcher of all time is. This question will almost certainly start a dispute because each person will have their own opinion of what “best” means. But if you ask those

I remember hearing a story about Pearl Jam, one of the big bands of the 90s. One of their biggest songs called “Alive” is a painful autobiographical song written by the singer, Eddie Vedder. However, fans of the song heard the song as a song of inspiration and strength. They

When it comes to the Christian life, there are two opposite but dangerous errors when it comes to understanding the law – antinomianism and legalism. Antinomianism is the teaching that since Jesus fulfilled the law, we have no law to follow and are free to do anything we want. Legalism is

The Trinity The Trinity is the biblical concept that God exists as three Divine Persons – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The purpose of this article is not to be a comprehensive study of the doctrine of the Trinity. The basic goals of this article are 1) to

It has been said that one of America’s biggest exports is the spread of the prosperity gospel. The teaching of the prosperity gospel is about how God wants most for His people is health and wealth, that He will bless you financially and in other worldly ways based on

What is a Spirit-filled church? Is it one where there is freedom to worship God in whatever way our hearts are led? Is it where there is no structure and order to how worship is carried out or where there is structure and order? Does God set guidelines of how

In 2 Samuel 11 is one of the saddest chapters of the Old Testament. In it we see the great fall of David as one of God’s most faithful people to an adulterer and murderer. Although we know David was not sinless, the Bible does not record any significant

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!" - Psalm 133:1 Unbelievers reject the truth of God for a number of reasons. Despite being unable to understand the word because it is spiritually discerned (1 Corinthians 2:14), unbelievers often point

There are times when we are on spiritual highs. Some experiences like a retreat, concert or a sermon allows us to feel the presence of the Holy Spirit in a very strong and powerful way. During these moments, we can feel invincible in our faith, like nothing could ever possibly

Imagine that you go to your primary care physician for your annual physical and he tells you that you have some form of inoperable cancer and have less than a year to live. You ask him if it is an aggressive form of cancer but are surprised to learn that

John Calvin (1509-1564) was one of the most well-known Christian theologians. He was an important figure who helped continue the protestant reformation after the death of Martin Luther in 1546 and his writings continue to be influential in Reformed denominations to this day. Even if you are not a member

When I was young, I watched the movie, "Angels in The Outfield". While watching the movie I remember thinking that the angels looked like birds with human faces. At that time, I had no idea what they really looked like or what their purpose was or even if

It is common to hear people talk about the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament as if He changed at some point. Usually, they say that the God of the Old Testament is a God full of wrath and anger, but the New Testament

Living most of my life in and around Houston, Texas, I have often wondered how mosquitoes can glorify God. The oppressive heat and humidity of Houston summers make the season bad enough, but the presence of these annoying bugs make it even worse. I joke sometimes that God created mosquitoes

Recently, I was told that an old friend of mine had a major stroke. He was paralyzed suffering from a state of immobility. My heart felt sad at the news of his paralysis for he loved to teach the truth of God's grace, to disciple men, and debate